Moblins (モリブリン,Moriburin?, Molblin) are recurring enemies in the Legend of Zelda series. They are pig-like or bulldog-like monsters belonging to the Goblin race, which often resides in forests. They most often carry spears, but are known to carry swords, clubs, and bow and arrows as well. While most Moblins are simply minions without much explanation, there are several exceptions of individual Moblins that appear in their game's story in some capacity.

Contents

Appearances

Moblins wield spears and are frequently found in the Overworld. They come in two colors: red and blue, with blue requiring more hits to defeat. Their spears can be blocked by Link's shield. Secret Moblins can be found hiding in Hidden Holes around the Overworld, where they give Link Rupees.

Unlike in The Legend of Zelda, Moblins appear to be tall and thin as a result of the game's side scrolling perspective. Moblins come in four varieties: red, blue, and two different shades of orange. One orange Moblin charges straight at Link, stabbing in front of itself, and deducts experience points from Link upon impact; the other stays at a distance, throwing spears at Link. Red Moblins carry spears and can stab either high or low much in the same manner as Iron Knuckles. Blue Moblins stab low and throw their spear instead of stabbing high.

Moblins are found throughout the Dark World. They walk in straight lines and periodically throw spears which can be deflected by Link's shield, and are frequently found alongside the more heavily armored Tauruses. Moblins are a counterpart of the Light World's Hyrule Guard Archers.

This was the first game in which Moblins had a porcine appearance rather than the original bulldog-like one. They were never officially named in English, but the Japanese version of the game identified them as Moblins.

Moblins appear only in the Sacred Forest Meadow when Link is an adult. Two kinds of Moblins are found, with the more common ones wielding spears and charging at Link when they see him. Typically, a spear Moblin lets out a cry before charging giving Link enough time to get out of the way; in order to defeat them, Link has to attack them from behind with either the Hookshot, Bow, or Master Sword (when they have their backs against Link), or he can sneak past them to avoid confrontation. A single Club Moblin stands at the end of the Sacred Forest meadow maze that leads to the entrance of the Forest Temple. When Link exits the Forest Temple, the Club Moblin can be found on the opposite edge of the passage.

Moblins are one of the most common enemies in the Oracle games. They act exactly as they did in Link's Awakening. They come in red and blue variants; the variant Link sees is determined by either the current age or season. Red appear in the Present, and blue in the Past.

In both games, Link can acquire a magical ring which allows him to take on the physical appearance of a Moblin. He cannot use any items while in this form, but cannot be eaten by Like Likes. This immunity is likely the result of a programing oversight. The ring can only be found in the possession of Maple or inside a Gasha Nut.

Moblins are large, gray pig-like monsters that carry Long Spears and sometimes lanterns. They appear less frequently than in certain other games, on account of them being much more powerful than most types of Moblins. They serve as guards within the Forsaken Fortress; during Link's first visit there, if he is caught, they will set him alight with their lanterns and throw him in a jail cell. Any Moblins that subsequently appear will either stab or swipe at Link with their Long Spears, causing him to fly back and take quite some damage. The two best combat moves that are recommended against Moblins are a Spin Attack and Parrying since other attacks will be blocked by the Moblin's spear. Link may steal the Moblin's Long Spears and wield as a weapon. Disarmed Moblins use hand-to-hand combat until they retrieve a weapon. Careful timing must be applied when fighting Moblins as they do not flinch when preparing to attack. Due to the large range on their attacks, there is a high chance they will strike other enemies when attempting to hit Link.

Link can temporarily scare away Moblins by taking out a Bomb after it gets damaged the first time. Quite humorously, if one sneaks up on a Moblin from the back or butt and stabs it, the Moblin will run away while crying and holding its rear, and could even fall off a ledge while doing this. When a Moblin is defeated, it may drop a Skull Necklace; if Link uses the Grappling Hook to take the necklace, then the Moblin in question will no longer be seen wearing it. When the necklace is removed, the Moblin will stare at Link in astonishment for about a second, then continue attacking. A Moblin appears as the mini-boss of Dragon Roost Cavern, where it duels Link on the summit of Dragon Roost Mountain.

The Wind Waker also features a Moblin with a backstory, whose name is Moe. He is never actually identified in-game, though he may be the one Moblin who does not return on Link's second trip to the Forsaken Fortress. Apparently, Moe worked at the Forsaken Fortress, and, during Maggie's captivity, he developed a relationship with her. This is the first instance in which a Moblin can read and write, probably in some form of Hylian, and that perhaps Moblins are capable of love.

Found in the Forsaken Fortress as well as the Savage Labyrinth are Moblin Statues, stone statues identical in appearance to Moblins; they are indestructible and attack by firing laser beams at Link when he is near.

Furthermore, the first form of the first boss of Ganon's Tower, Puppet Ganon, seems to be based on the Moblin; however, it may be based on Ganon's pig-like form, which in turn may have inspired the appearance of the Moblin.

Moblins are virtually identical in appearance to their Four Swords counterparts. They are equipped with either bows or spears. The bowmen will shoot Link on sight, while the spearmen charge at him in a straight line (they have no slashing attack whatsoever). They come in "flesh" and gray varieties, and often drop large amounts of Rupees when slain. Occasionally, a defeated Moblin will also drop a green Kinstone.

At one point, A Moblin disguised as a woman takes over Percy's house; using the Lantern, Link can light the torches in the house, causing the Moblin to reveal its true form. It will bribe Link with 100 Rupees to keep quiet, and promptly leaves the house. Though the typical dialogue is not used, the Moblin's bribery may be a reference to the Secret Moblin.

Moblins are redesigned again as bulky monstrous humanoids with vaguely bull doggish features.

Moblins are very resilient, taking many hits to defeat and absorbing attacks without flinching. They carry large spears and shields made of either wood or iron. Their wooden shields can be easily sliced up or destroyed using bombs, rendering them vulnerable. When Moblins are carrying iron shields, however, Link must find a way around them to attack from behind, or sprint and run up their shield, as can be done to a wall, to land behind them where they are vulnerable. With good aim, the Bow can also be employed against them by hitting them in the face just above their shield. Bombs are also effective, although Moblins with metal shields are unaffected if the blast hits the shield. It will just block bombs over and over. Similarly, the Slingshot can be used to stun them if shot at their head. If archer Bokoblins are present, their arrows can be used to attack the Moblins from behind by luring the Moblin into their range of fire, most notably in the Horde Battle near the end of the game. They can also be defeated from a much safer distance with a few Skyward Strikes using the Master Sword.

Moblins will shield themselves and stab at Link when he tries to slice up their shields, and will sometimes try to Shield Bash him, especially when the shield has been cut a few times. When their wooden shield is destroyed, Moblins will toss the handle aside and go berserk, attacking with wide two-handed swings of their spears when Link enters attack range. The number of consecutive swings can vary from one to three and the spear has a long reach, making this a dangerous attack early in the game. While swinging, Moblins may hit nearby enemies, damaging them. Moblins are not as persistent as other enemies, quickly forgeting about Link's presence if he runs a short distance away from them.

The best approach to these enemies is to edge around or stay behind them and swing rapidly. If snuck up on from behind it is possible to defeat them before they have the presence of mind to turn around, especially with the Master Sword. Staying behind them is preferable not only from an offensive point, but also defensive; when defeated, Moblins topple forwards, and their enormous weight will hurt Link and knock him back if they fall onto him.

Moblins appears as an opponent for Link in this game. They only appear in Lorule and carry protective shields which will protect them from many of Link's weapons. They can be destroyed with either the Fire Rod or the Hookshot.

Based on the original game, Moblins in the animated series resemble bulldogs. Their trademark stupidity repeatedly leads them to foul up plans of their master, Ganon. However, they have the intellectual capacity to think for themselves; in the episode "The Moblins Are Revolting", they decide that Ganon is an unworthy leader on account of Link foiling his schemes time and again, and that they are better off without him. They overthrow him and form the Brotherhood of Underworld Monsters, but it meets a similar end as one of their master's many schemes, and they return, groveling to Ganon's side.

As in the animated series, Moblins resemble bulldogs and are not intelligent, but even so have personalities (and can speak) that has not, as a rule, carried across to the games, although Moblins in The Wind Waker are known to speak and understand Hylian. Certain prints of the comics also refer to Moblins as "Molblins."

The events of this book take place during the events of the original Legend of Zelda. It is noteworthy that the book was published before the decision was made to permanently change the spelling to Moblin. Link faces off with a specific adversary, whose titular magic spear allows him to deliver relentless attacks.

Moblins continue to serve under Ganon's command and try to eliminate Zelda on her quest to obtain three items necessary to free Link from the crystal. They always appear in groups, right behind Ganon, willing to attack as soon as the dark lord commands them.

Moblins do not serve Ganon, but also a Moblin Boss who commands them to destroy Link in order to satisfy their master. They play a much bigger role in this book, having ability to disguise themselves as humans and thus trick Link into thinking that they are there to help him. Both Princess Zelda and Link are first attack by a gang of Moblins as they walk through the woods. But they are defeated easily, Zelda runs out of arrows for her bow and ultimately gets knocked out by a rock thrown at her by one of the Moblins. Link goes after her but trips and tumbles on the ground, and just as he is about to be killed by a Moblin, a tall, dark man known as Charles saves him by commanding the Moblins to leave.

Although they never actually made an appearance in the final version of Twilight Princess, a Moblin was shown as a beta enemy for the game. These were only seen in the first trailer released for the game and in a few early screenshots there after. Their bodies greatly resembled the Moblins from The Wind Waker albeit with a more realistic look. Their heads, however, are covered in metal masks and they have much sharper teeth. They were shown attacking with a long axe showing similar attack patterns to their counterparts from The Wind Waker.

Moblins appear as enemy units. They are based on their incarnation from Skyward Sword, and appear as captain/enforcers in the Bokoblin army. They also resemble an almost identical, however stronger unit called Shield Moblin. If attacked with a Bomb while one is preparing its spear based Spin Attack-Belly Flop combo, the attack will throw the Moblin off balance, causing them to expose their weak point gauge (in Hyrule Warriors Legends a Bomb icon appears over the Moblin to signal the point when they are vulnerable to Bombs). They are also vulnerable after performing a belly fop attack.

Name discrepancy

The name Moblin was originally rendered Molblin, sparking debates over the true title. This inconsistency was often blamed on Nintendo of America's localization team, alongside their earlier apparent errors Gannon, Zola and Miyahon. However, it was found that these alternate spellings were present in the Japanese release. Moreover, the Japanese name for Moblin is モリブリン ("MORIBURIN"). This was translated as "Molblin" in The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link. It is also the spelling used in the officially licensed children's book Molblin's Magic Spear. From A Link to the Past onwards, the name was changed to "Moblin" in all official sources on the English side.